Visual kei, also known as "Visual Style," is a group of Japanese musicians who focus on wearing fancy and unique costumes during performances. This style began in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima from the band Bounce explained that visual kei is not about a specific type of music, but about creating a band's own special image and beauty through makeup and clothing. While visual kei musicians can play many different kinds of music, the style started with bands inspired by glam rock, heavy metal, punk rock, and gothic rock.

Groups like X Japan, Dead End, Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, and Color helped start the visual kei movement. In the 1990s, bands such as Luna Sea, Glay, L'Arc-en-Ciel, and Malice Mizer made visual kei more well-known. During the 2000s, artists like Gackt and bands such as Dir En Grey, the Gazette, Alice Nine, and Versailles continued the movement, a time some call "neo-visual kei." Some musicians change their appearance after becoming famous, which makes people question if they still belong to the visual kei group.

Etymology

The term "visual kei" came from one of X Japan's phrases, "Psychedelic Violence Crime of Visual Shock," which appeared on the cover of their second studio album Blue Blood (1989). This term was created by Seiichi Hoshiko, the first editor of Shoxx magazine. Shoxx was started in 1990 and was the first magazine focused on this subject.

In a 2018 interview with JRock News, Hoshiko explained that the term "visual kei" was inspired by X Japan's lead guitarist, Hide. At the time, the group was sometimes called "Okeshou Kei" (お化粧系, "Makeup Style"). However, Hoshiko said this term felt too simple and did not properly describe the group. He asked writers to stop using "Okeshou Kei" and instead use "Visual-shock kei." Over time, this became "Visual-kei" and later "V-kei." Fans began to shorten it to "V-kei," a common practice in Japan.

Hoshiko believes "visual kei" is a unique Japanese music style that includes both the music and the visual elements, such as clothing and appearance.

History

Visual kei began in the 1980s in Japan's secret music scene. Bands like X Japan, Dead End, Buck-Tick, D'erlanger, and Color helped start the movement. Music writer Taiyo Sawada noted that early visual kei bands had different musical styles. Some were influenced by metal, others by 1980s goth and new wave music, and some came from hardcore punk. A Japanese music website called Real Sound said that visual kei founders shared some traits with members of the yankī delinquent subculture. The movement created a new type of Japanese rock music inspired by Western hard rock and glam metal bands like Kiss, Hanoi Rocks, Mötley Crüe, and Twisted Sister. In an article, Megan Pfeifle wrote that the movement had two main generations, with the first divided into three time periods. The first time period lasted more than ten years.

From the late 1980s until the mid-1990s, visual kei became more popular in Japan. Sales of albums by visual kei bands grew quickly. The first band to achieve notable success was Dead End. Their independent album Dead Line (1986) sold over 20,000 copies. Their major label debut album Ghost of Romance (1987) reached number 14 on the Oricon Albums Chart. In the same year, Buck-Tick released their major debut album Sexual XXXXX! through the same label. Dead End also had their albums Ghost of Romance and Shámbara (1988) released by the American label Metal Blade Records. These albums received radio and MTV exposure in the United States. In 1990, D'erlanger's major debut album Basilisk reached number 5 on the Oricon chart, but both D'erlanger and Dead End disbanded that same year.

In 1988 and 1989, Buck-Tick and X Japan began gaining mainstream success that continues today. Buck-Tick's single "Just One More Kiss" reached number 6, and "Aku no Hana" became the first visual kei single to reach number 1 on the Oricon Singles Chart. Their studio albums Seventh Heaven (1988) and Taboo (1989) reached numbers 3 and 1 on the charts, respectively. These were the first Japanese rock band albums to be performed at the Tokyo Dome. Buck-Tick continued to have success, with most of their albums topping the charts until 1995 and later reaching the top ten. X Japan's first album, the independently released Vanishing Vision, reached number 19 in 1988, making them the first independent band to appear on the main Oricon Albums Chart. Their second album, Blue Blood (1989), reached number 6 and sold 712,000 copies. Their third album, Jealousy (1991), sold over 1 million copies and topped the charts. They later released two more number one albums, Art of Life (1993) and Dahlia (1996). In 1992, X Japan tried to enter the American market by signing with Atlantic Records, but this did not happen.

Two record labels, Extasy Records (Tokyo) and Free-Will (Osaka), were formed in 1986 and helped promote visual kei. Extasy was created by X Japan's drummer and leader Yoshiki. It signed bands, not just visual kei acts, that later became important in Japanese music, including Zi:Kill, Tokyo Yankees, and Ladies Room. Luna Sea and Glay, who sold millions of records, had their first albums released by Extasy in 1991 and 1994, respectively. Free-Will was founded by Color's vocalist and leader Dynamite Tommy. Though less popular than Extasy at first, it supported moderately successful acts like By-Sexual and Kamaitachi.

Pfeifle described the second transition era as starting in 1993 with bands like L'Arc-en-Ciel, Glay (whose first album was released in 1994), and Malice Mizer. These bands gained more attention, though they were not always as commercially successful. L'Arc-en-Ciel and Glay later became very popular but changed their appearance significantly, which made them less associated with visual kei. Around 1995, visual kei bands experienced a period of great success among the general public, lasting four years. Pfeifle noted that the third transition era began with bands like La'cryma Christi, Penicillin, and Rouage achieving moderate success. At that time, the "big four of visual kei" were Malice Mizer, La'cryma Christi, Shazna, and Fanatic Crisis.

In the early 1990s, a visual kei scene in Nagoya focused more on music than fashion. This style was later called Nagoya kei. Bands like Silver-Rose (formed in 1989) and Kuroyume (formed in 1991) were known as the "Nagoya big two" in the underground scene. Laputa (formed in 1993) helped create the early Nagoya kei style. Kuroyume's albums Feminism (1995) and Fake Star (1996) both reached number 1 on the Oricon chart. During the 1990s, other styles like Eroguro kei (represented by Cali Gari), Angura kei (underground style with traditional clothing), and Ouji kei or Kodona kei (prince or boy style, represented by Plastic Tree) emerged. In 1998, Pierrot released their major debut single,

Characteristics

Visual kei is sometimes called a movement, scene, subculture, or music genre. It is not linked to one type of music because visual kei artists perform many styles, such as punk rock, heavy metal, pop, electronica, classical, and industrial. Instead, visual kei is known for focusing on appearance, especially clothing and makeup. Some artists and critics say it is a way to express creativity and try new styles. Koji Dejima of Bounce wrote that visual kei "focuses on creating a band's unique vision or style through makeup and fashion." Sources also note that visual kei is a cultural trend that started in Japan.

Visual kei musicians often have brightly colored, dyed hair, fancy outfits made of materials like leather, PVC, or lace, and traditional Japanese clothing. They also wear a lot of jewelry. Many artists use styles that mix male and female features, and some male musicians dress in ways similar to traditional Japanese actors who play female roles. This style became famous because of the band Malice Mizer, whose guitarist dressed as a woman and singer Gackt was known for looking like a "beautiful young man." These styles are similar to those in Japanese comic books called shōjo manga. Artists take inspiration from many fashion trends, such as glam, metal, punk, goth, and cyberpunk. Dejima said visual kei combines ideas from the New Romantic movement and the Los Angeles metal scene, as well as goth culture, and adds elements from unusual interests like Lolita fashion, psychology, and the occult. There are many smaller groups within visual kei that describe different styles. For example, Eroguro kei is influenced by horror and bondage themes, while angura kei uses traditional Japanese clothing like kimonos. Some artists change their look when they become popular, which makes people wonder if they are still considered visual kei.

Besides appearance, visual kei artists often create a larger theme or story. Their performances are full of sights, sounds, and other sensory experiences, and they often tell the audience that their shows are carefully planned. For example, Gackt once said he imagined himself as a vampire during his performances.

Criticism

Some people have criticized newer visual kei bands for losing the original spirit of the movement. They say these bands copy each other’s looks and music styles, making them seem too similar. In 1998, Neil Strauss wrote that after the band X, makeup and extreme appearances became more important than music for visual kei bands. Many musicians have shared their concerns. In 2008, Kirito (from Pierrot and Angelo) said, “Now, people dress a certain way to look like visual kei instead of being unique. This is very different from when we began over ten years ago.” Sugizo (from Luna Sea) said in 2010, “These bands struggle to create good music and treat it more like a hobby. I don’t feel their passion in their songs.”

Toshiya, the bassist of Dir En Grey, said in 2010, “When we started, many bands wore makeup, and people thought it was cool. But now, it’s not the same.” He added that earlier bands, like X Japan, had very unique music, and no two bands sounded alike. Kenzi (from Kamaitachi and The Dead Pop Stars) said in 2009, “In the past, bands tried to be different. Now, there is one band, and others copy it.” Tommy, the founder of Free-Will and frontman of Color, said, “I don’t think our style of visual kei exists anymore.”

In 2013, Kiyoharu (from Kuroyume and Sads) said that older bands, including Ryuichi (Luna Sea) and Hyde (L’Arc-en-Ciel), were influenced by Morrie (Dead End), but they created something new. He said younger bands are more imitative, and from Morrie’s view, this might look like “a copy of a copy of a copy.” Morrie added that the issue is that new visual kei bands have become a genre, and while some aspects are about business, he hopes people will continue to push boundaries. He said, “It doesn’t matter how skilled you are. Whether you follow the visual kei style or not, it’s about being creative.”

In 2015, Bunny Bissoux from Time Out Tokyo said the movement now resembles the J-pop idol system, where people want to “look” visual kei instead of being truly different. He said originality in music is disappearing. In 2018, Seiichi Hoshiko expressed worry about how this trend might affect the future of the movement.

Popularity

Magazines that come out regularly in Japan and cover visual kei include Arena 37°C, Cure, Fool's Mate Express, Shoxx, Shock Wave, and Rock and Read, among others. The popularity of visual kei groups outside Japan has grown in recent years, mainly through the internet and Japanese anime. This is shown by German magazines Peach (which stopped publishing in 2011) and Koneko, as well as the European record label Gan-Shin. The largest fan communities for visual kei are found in the United States, Germany, Poland, Russia, France, and Brazil, with smaller groups in Finland, Chile, and Sweden.

Because of this influence on international youth culture, bands like Cinema Bizarre have formed. However, they do not consider themselves visual kei because they are not ethnically Japanese. Examples of non-Japanese artists who claim to be inspired by visual kei or are labeled as visual kei include the Swedish singer Yohio and the American music project Canary Complex. Although there are Western music acts with similar styles, such as Marilyn Manson, Tokio Hotel, and Lady Gaga, Pfeifle notes that the androgynous appearance of visual kei bands often causes an unfavorable reaction among Westerners.

Some musicologists say that the singer's voice strongly attracts international fans, especially women. These fans often perform stylized movements, such as tesensu (arm fan), gyakudai (reversed dive), hedoban (headbang), and saku (spreading hands in the air).

Gallery

• In 2007, the Candy Spooky Theater performed in New York City with white face paint.
• In 2007, Mikaru, vocalist of the band Dio from Distraught Overlord, wore a costume in Paris.
• In 2008, Hakuei, vocalist of Penicillin, was in Paris.
• In 2009, Vistlip wore matching outfits in Paris.
• In 2010, Ryōga, guitarist of Vivid, was in Paris.
• In 2011, Sugizo performed with X Japan in Brazil.
• In 2012, the all-female band Exist Trace performed in Pittsburgh.
• In 2012, Daizystripper was in Alberta.